Forever Ends on Friday – Justin A. Reynolds

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and allowing me to be a part of the blog tour!

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Jamal’s best friend, Q, doesn’t know he’s about to die . . . again.

He also doesn’t know that Jamal tried to save his life, rescuing him from drowning only to watch Q die later in the hospital. Even more complicated, Jamal and Q haven’t been best friends in two years—not since Jamal’s parents died in a car accident, leaving him and his sister to carry on without them. Grief swallowed Jamal whole, and he blamed Q for causing the accident.

But what if Jamal could have a second chance? An impossible chance that would grant him the opportunity to say goodbye to his best friend? A new health-care technology allows Q to be reanimated—brought back to life like the old Q again. But there’s a catch: Q will only reanimate for a short time before he dies . . . forever.

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I have heard quite a few people talk about Justin A. Reynolds’ books in the past but I had never picked one up myself. I have a copy of Opposite of Always somewhere at home and I will definitely be picking it up now that I have read Forever Ends on Friday. This book made me laugh, it made me cry and it brought a smile to my face. It is excellent! 

This book is a contemporary story with bits of sci-fi weaved throughout which is what initially sparked my interest. I’m so glad that I picked up a copy. It has some unexpected twists and turns throughout which kept me hooked. When it comes down to it, this book is a beautiful exploration of living your life to its absolute fullest. It doesn’t do this in a cheesy way though it just makes you think about how you never know what is around the corner.

Forever Ends on Friday is surprisingly hilarious at times and provides readers with a celebration of life and a huge reminder to treasure every minute. I feel like this book and its message, is one that really resonated with me because of what is going on in the world at the minute. I really appreciated it and I’m sure a lot of others will.

The dynamic between Jamal and Q is incredibly complex. This isn’t helped in anyway by the fact that they have been through some tragic events throughout their friendship. It is so lovely to see the two friends mend over time though. It is heartfelt and heart-warming. I enjoyed the little glimpses you get into Jamal and Q’s friendship in the past, especially the little excerpts from their YouTube videos. Yes, the humour is quite childish at points but they are teens and it is still incredibly fun and makes you laugh a lot.

I did struggle getting into this book at the start. It started out quite slowly in my opinion and it took till around 150 pages in for me to be captivated. After the slow start though I couldn’t put it down.

I adored how much this book is about finding family and realising who and how much people have your back. This book came to me at the perfect time when all I wanted to read about was love and growth. Any book that manages to seamlessly mix humour and the devastating reality of loss is extraordinary. 

On the topic of grief, I’ve never seen another book explore the topic in the way that Forever Ends on Friday does. It even had the effect to have me reflect on moments in my own life and what I would do relive them. Justin A. Reynolds manages to approach the topic of the moral question of reliving events and offers a very unique take on the subject.

Overall, this book is spectacular and brought a smile to my face at a time where the world is tough on us all. It is funny, it is tear-jerking and it is just wonderful. If you are looking for a story to captivate you and really make you feel, this is the one for you.